The ongoing crisis has had significant impact on Japan’s economy, particularly within the fishing industry, and now threatens to damage international relations with South Korea. This week, that country’s Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Yoon Jin-sook, expressed anger at Japan’s continual denials over the past two years that radioactive water was seeping into the ocean, until it finally admitted that leaks were occurring this July—just one day after the pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) took control of Japan’s Parliament. Yoon, who recently banned seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures, called Japan immoral.

TEPCO’s efforts to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors stem largely from a desire to avoid bankruptcy.Creditors were eager for the company to prove that it could turn a profit after showing losses over the past two years. In response to Hirose’s announcement that TEPCO will attempt to bring the reactors online again, a consortium of 30 banks in Japan pledged 80 billion yen ($800 million) in financing to the struggling utility. However, the company is not yet out of the woods: loans totaling 200 billion yen will come due in December, and TEPCO is now trying to borrow an additional 300 billion yen. Hirose also said that the company will attempt to cut costs further and change the way that maintenance expenses are recorded. Meanwhile, TEPCO is welcoming the government’s efforts to deal with the water crisis, something that doesn’t sit well with some members of Parliament. “It is illogical that taxpayers’ money is used to solve problems resulting from the nuclear accident. There are other things that should be done before taxpayers’ money is spent,” complained Tetsuya Shiokawa.

Today mr. Koizumi, former prime minister of Japan, declared at a conference in Nagoya that Japan should stop using nuclear energy.
Mr. Koizumi belongs (belonged?) to the LDP, the same party of Japan current prime minister. When Koizumi was PM he supported nuclear power but, in light of the Fukushima disaster, he says he has now changed his mind.